By Quezia Salgado
As another school year wraps up students lose sleep to get those last minute study sessions in, teachers race to turn in test grades, and parents can’t help but become overwhelmed with the nostalgic feeling of seeing their high school graduates go off to college. In the midst of the chaos that goes on behind the scenes of the preparations for prom and graduation, the Boca community has many reasons to be proud of its students, who continue to shine in South Florida, displaying outstanding levels of excellence in their academic achievements. The success of Palm Beach county schools in equipping their students is a result of the collaboration among students, teachers, and parents.
In recognition of this continued effort for excellence in education, Palm Beach and Martin County students are presented each year with the Pathfinder High School Scholarship Awards, given to those who have demonstrated outstanding achievement in 18 academic, vocational and athletic categories. Pathfinders is sponsored by Palm Beach Newspapers, Inc., and this year, out of the 72 students awarded, 11 were from Boca Raton public schools, which include Olympic Heights, Spanish River, West Boca, and Boca High.
With six students awarded, Boca Raton High principal Geoff McKee attributes this recognition to the hard work of students and teachers alike, “[the students] are trying their hardest because it’s important to them that they succeed; the students’ desire to be prepared feeds the teachers’ interest in preparing them, and those two factors complement each other very well.”
In addition to the student-teacher relationship, another contributing factor to the success of Boca schools is parental involvement: “The more involved a parent is in the child’s schooling the more successful the child will be. The parent’s involvement reinforces how important school is to the child,” says Spanish River High principal William Latson.
Community involvement is another category recognized by the Pathfinders awards, and Olympic Heights has an exemplary record of extracurricular activities, which add to the students’ development of social skills. Among them is the school’s contribution to the St. Baldrick’s Foundation, “We are the largest school-based fundraiser for childhood cancer in the United States; just this past year we raised over $56,000 with over 120 kids involved,” says principal Dave Clark.
According to Clark, who has worked in Palm Beach County schools for over 29 years, challenges have always been present in the education system, but they are overcome with collaboration from all involved: students, teachers, and parents. “Boca is very unique when it comes to education because there is higher expectation from the parents. We have upper middle class, more affluent parents who are college educated and are very involved in their kids’ education,” says Clark.
Whether the high level of expectation comes from parents, teachers, or the students themselves, the fact is that it can also create healthy competition among students. According to principal Mark Stenner of West Boca High, the selection for class Valedictorian and Salutatorian is made with basis on a calculation of the courses taken by the students on their first seven semesters of High school, not counting high school credit courses taken in middle school. “It is based on HPA (Honor Point Average) not GPA. More rigorous classes (Advanced Placement, Cambridge AICE, dual enrollment courses) earn more honor points,” he explains. When it comes to class rank, however, this calculation is based on the GPA/HPA and includes all high school courses the student has taken, including those taken in middle school. “This model creates a number of different possibilities, including a student who may have the #2 class rank, but not be Salutatorian and actually become the #3 student for Val/Sal purposes,” Stenner adds. The different systems of evaluation of a student’s development create an atmosphere where they continually strive for improvement, and as Stenner says, “There is nothing wrong with academic competitiveness,” as long as everyone plays by the rules.
All four of Boca’s public high schools continue to elevate their academic standards by adding advanced placement classes and magnet programs to their curricula, offering voluntary study sessions during after school hours, and by promoting events that celebrate the diversity in the student body which, on average, is composed of students from over 100 different countries.
Regardless of where they decide to go to college, the graduating classes of 2014 from Boca high schools are fully equipped to take on any challenge, thanks to the hard work of this community of educators who will stop at nothing to provide their students with the world-class education they deserve. Wherever these graduates go from here, the legacy of Boca’s education will certainly carry on with them.